Open Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Haptics and select Play in Silent Mode. Choose Always Play if you also want calls and alerts to vibrate in Ring mode. If your iPhone stays still, test a ringtone vibration pattern and check whether a Focus is silencing the call.
01Check whether iPhone can play a vibration
Section linkIn Settings → Sounds & Haptics, open Ringtone → Haptics and tap a vibration pattern to preview it. If calls vibrate but texts do not, check the pattern under Text Tone → Haptics instead. A working preview gives you a way to separate a missing vibration pattern from a call or message that was silenced.
02Check the switch that controls all vibration
Section linkIf the pattern preview is silent and you feel nothing, open Settings → Accessibility → Touch and check that Vibration is on. This is a separate switch from Sounds & Haptics. With Vibration off, iPhone also turns off vibrations for emergency alerts.
03Run one test call with Focus off
Section linkOpen Control Center → Focus and temporarily turn off Do Not Disturb if it is active. Keep Silent Mode on, lock the phone, and ask someone to call. If the phone now vibrates, check that Focus before turning it back on. If only one person’s calls or texts fail to vibrate, check that contact’s Ringtone or Text Tone in Contacts.
04If no pattern vibrates
Section linkTry another built-in pattern with Accessibility → Touch → Vibration on. If none produces any vibration, tell Apple Support which patterns you previewed and whether incoming calls still appear on screen. Those details help distinguish a vibration problem from a missing alert.